Re-Thinking Social Research Anti-Discriminatory Approaches in Research Methodology

Social research plays an important part in the social sciences and in the planning and implementation of personal social services. Whilst considerable attention has been paid to the methods used to undertake social research, little has been done to explore the processes under which it is carried out. This volume explores the process of social research from an anti-discriminatory perspective. Contributors address themes connected to every aspect of social research from its design, through fieldwork to implementation of findings. Papers adopt critical perspectives to explore issues to do with many aspects of power and 'difference' in research including the power of black feminist research, issues in collaborative research, anti-discriminatory methodologies, quality of life in people with learning difficulties and participatory research. The book addresses many key issues which have been at the centre of current social debate and offers a unique contribution to the literature on research methodology. As such, it is likely to have a wide readership with both academic audiences and practice based welfare professions.

Contents: Rethinking social research: research in an unequal world; Feminist challenges to traditional research: have they gone far enough?; Black children in the public care system: some issues for anti-discriminatory research; Exploring ways of giving a voice to people with learning disabilities; Lost in a straight reality: lesbians and gay men in social research; Critical life histories: key anti-oppressive research methods and processes; Developing a feminist participative research framework: evaluating the process; Doing service based research: some lessons from the all-Wales strategy; Anti-discriminatory practitioner social work research: some basic problems and possible remedies; Empowerment and social research: elements for an analytic framework; Index.

Beth Humphries, Carole Truman